A Vision of Hollywood Along the Hudson River

By TOM CALLAHAN

Published: January 12, 1992

PASSING by the County Medical Center in February 1988, people saw a giant crane spraying white foam on the pine trees there. It wasn't being done for environmental reasons: an office in the Psychiatric Institute was being used in the filming of the movie "Working Girl."

The film crew transformed the office so that it resembled a posh Vermont hospital room, complete with a view of snow-covered trees outside the frosted windows. The Medical Center received $3,500 for renting the property for a day and a half, and the children hospitalized in the institute received a surprise visit from Sigourney Weaver, who starred in the movie.

The Medical Center is just one of many locations in the county used as sites for feature films, television programs and commercials. To encourage this activity, the county's Film Office, part of the Office of Cultural Affairs, has just published a 38-page booklet entitled "Filming in Westchester."

The booklet provides film-location scouts and production companies looking for sites with detailed information on the fees and legal requirements for the 44 cities, towns and villages in Westchester. 'Every Type of Location'

"One of the reasons why Westchester is an ideal location for filming is that we're close to Manhattan and have virtually everything here except cactus," said Judy Matson, director of the county's Office of Cultural Affairs. "We have every type of location you can imagine here, from landscapes and historical architecture to bodies of water and an airport."

Film work causes an economic ripple effect that benefits other businesses in the county. Film industry officials estimate that during the filming of a big-budget movie, an average of $200,000 is spent in the local economy by production crews on such local goods and services as food and lodging. Each filming of a commercial or a television show pumps an estimated $110,000 into the local economy.

"The issue is not so much that the county or locality profits from the fees they receive from the production company," Ms. Matson said. "The issue is to get that ripple effect throughout the local economy and generate money in Westchester."

But Ms. Matson said that obtaining film locations in Westchester is far more complicated than in New York City and some other counties because of local home rule.

In New York City, the Mayor's Office of Film, Television and Broadcasting has the power to close streets for filming and assign a special police contingent to work with film-production companies. Westchester's government has no such power, because each municipality can decide individually whether to permit filming. Regular Interest

The County Film Office, which receives about 10 calls a week from film scouts, refers the scouts to the appropriate local or county authorities. County departments determine whether to allow filming on county property.

Municipalities set their own fees and license requirements. They can also impose a per-diem charge for filming, which varies markedly. Mamaroneck, for instance, does not impose a fee, while Mount Kisco, Ossining and New Castle charge $1,200 a day for filming rights. In the city of Rye, the per-diem fee can range from a minimum of $1,000 a day to a maximum of $10,000 a day, depending on the project.

Most municipalities require the production company to have insurance and some impose specific limitations on the length of a film project and even the times of day allowed for shooting. Other municipalities forbid filming that disrupts local traffic. Film companies must also pay for any police or municipal workers needed to assist them.

While locations in Westchester have been used for many Hollywood productions, including "Fatal Attraction," "Big," "Presumed Innocent," "Hudson Hawk" and "Regarding Henry," not every locality is eager to appear on the silver screen. Major Disruption

"Filming in a town used to be glamorous, but it's not anymore, especially when people go through the experience," Ms. Matson said. "The reality is that whenever you have film production, the film company takes over. There are cameras and wires and lights all over the place. Many communities are weighing how much they want the money versus how much they're willing to be disrupted."

Village Manager John T. Pierpont of Mount Kisco, said: "We cut our teeth on the filming of 'Ragtime,' and the problem was traffic. The house they used for the film was right on the westbound exit of the village." Because of those problems, the village inserted a clause into the new county booklet on filming, stating, "Filming should have no impact on traffic."

Yonkers receives three to four calls a month from film scouts and production companies, said Dee Barbado, public information officer for the city. "It's always disruptive," she said, "but we try to work with them to minimize the disruption. The way to do that is to get the crew in early." Some Yonkers film shoots have been scheduled as early as 4 A.M. on Central Avenue to avoid traffic problems.

The chambers of the Yonkers City Council and the city manager's reception room were used most recently as the site of a Japanese television drama about United States-Japanese relations. And the Home Box Office film "Tales From the Dark Side" was also filmed in Yonkers. Question of Priorities

Among county properties, Muscoot Farm Park in Somers is the most popular site for filming, Ms. Matson said, followed closely by Playland in Rye, which was used in "Fatal Attraction."

"Our parks are for the people of Westchester first," said Barry Samuel, deputy commissioner of the Parks Department. "But if we can accommodate a commercial or film project in a park, we'll certainly do it."

County officials caution that tremendous planning must be done before the film crew arrives. "If you go in and don't know what filming entails and then the film company shows up, it's like a 300-pound elephant landing on your back," said Barry Bowman, director of public relations and development for the Medical Center, where the crew for "Working Girl" filmed.

"It's not their fault, because they know exactly what they need to do their jobs," he said. "But we have to make sure that the filming is not disruptive of patient care. That means we must know how many crew members are on the film, how much equipment they'll bring, even how much power they'll use. We want to make sure that their power needs won't cause a brownout at the hospital."

But Mr. Bowman also stressed the positive and recalled the visit by Sigourney Weaver. "When she walked into the room, the kids' faces lit up like Christmas trees," he said. "The kids knew her from 'Ghostbusters.' She spent an hour talking to them and then followed up with several letters and autographed pictures for each child."

And even with all the preparation, the glamour of being in the movies remains. "From the standpoint of institutional morale and pride, it's a wonderful experience," Mr. Bowman said. "A lot of people who work here talk more about the movies than the bypass operations."